The Student News Site of Saratoga High School

The Saratoga Falcon
Courtesy of LGSUHSD board The official map, decided during the April 14 public hearing.
School board finalizes district map for new trustee elections
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Saratoga High School Junior Arjun Krish is one of 20 students in the country who have a shot at representing the US at the International Biology Olympiad.
Junior qualifies for International Biology Olympiad training camp at Harvard
May 27, 2025
French 1 classes are switching to the “Reporters Francophones” textbook for next year.
Language classes to try new textbook options next year
May 25, 2025
Seniors gather in the quad to celebrate their college decisions.
Seniors showcase post-grad plans on Commit Day
May 23, 2025
Choir and AP Music Theory teacher Beth Nitzan conducts a choir class during a rehearsal for their end-of-year concert on May 19.
Nitzan to leave school after four years in music department
May 21, 2025
Me conducting taste evaluations with two drinks at once.
The *actual* best boba places in the Bay
June 2, 2025
Courtesy of Aidan Smith Finn and Aidan pose together in the backyard for pictures before prom.
The Duality of Man: Aidan and Finn Smith
June 2, 2025
Keys works on an essay with an English 11 Honors student.
The first day of school in August requires months of planning for teachers
June 1, 2025
Hector and I pose with our first target after eliminating her in San Francisco.
Senior Mag 2025: We were eliminated in Senior Assassin — but that only made the game more fun
May 29, 2025
Seniors Annette Li and Kayla Nguyen anchor on an SHSTV broadcast.
Senior Mag ‘25: Duo evolves from GNNers to SHSTV head producers
May 27, 2025
(left to right) Audrey Wong, Summer Shen, Hannah Bui and Angela Tan prepare for a football game.
Senior Mag 2025: From Europe to the Bay, Flute seniors bonded over marching band
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Annette Li We pose after our victory against Fremont High on April 30.
Senior Mag 2025: The chemistry and chaos of a 4-year badminton partnership
June 1, 2025
Junior Garrick Chau faces off sophomore William Dechlick and mental health therapist Victor Thompson in the Falcon Nest.
Foosball club brings in a professional to coach members skills
May 31, 2025
Many physical therapies consist of stretching and light exercises.
Student athletes navigate a long rehabilitation process after injuries
May 31, 2025
Courtesy of Lauren Nguyen Smiling proudly, the team stands together and celebrates their awards.
Dance team reflects on Nationals and what’s next
May 28, 2025
A wide variety of euphemisms impact perception in different ways.
Words that need to be heard: euphemisms are dangerous tools for desensitization
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Universities have no right to revoke diplomas for political speech
May 30, 2025
Courtesy of Charles Edward Miller People protesting against unlawful deportations.
Universities need to take action to prevent students from being deported by ICE
May 30, 2025
11th grade classes are full of interesting material.
100-word rant: teachers, five tests in two days is just cruel
May 29, 2025
Campaigning on popular social media apps such as Instagram shouldn’t be the norm.
For school leadership elections, candidates can rely too much on social media advertising
May 28, 2025
General Psychology teacher Hana Chen.
General Psychology class explores the field through projects
June 15, 2025
Courtesy of Nathan Shows The view from the dinner cruise on the Vltava.
The last class to remember being stranded in Prague, 2022
June 4, 2025
Courtesy of Rani Khanna Rani and Krishen in their childhood.
The Khanna twins: more like regular siblings than twins
June 4, 2025
Courtesy of Saratoga High School Grace Liu and Luke Zhang are the valedictorian and salutatorian of the senior class respectively.
Class of 2025 valedictorian and salutatorian announced
June 3, 2025
Courtesy of NBC Bay Area Saratoga High’s field shot from above.
Senior Mag: How anti-turf advocacy became my turf
June 3, 2025
Volume 57, Issue 6
Volume 57, Issue 6
April 23, 2025
Volume 57, Issue 5
Volume 57, Issue 5
April 23, 2025
Volume 57, Issue 4
Volume 57, Issue 4
April 23, 2025
Volume 57, Issue 3
Volume 57, Issue 3
April 23, 2025
Volume 57, Issue 2
Volume 57, Issue 2
April 23, 2025

The Saratoga Falcon

The Saratoga Falcon
All content by Jonny Luo
Seniors Sam, Kabeer and Shrey sleeping while Pothan stays alert

Photo or Graphic for: Senior Mag 2024: A professional guide to sleeping in class

Sam Bai
A scrumptious pizza with a side of chocolate milk and fruit cups. 

100-word rave: delicious, delectable, delightful — a love letter to cafeteria lunch

Jonny Luo
Top 10 ways to justifiably slap your friends

Top 10 ways to justifiably slap your friends

Jonny Luo
Li prepares to shoot at the Outdoor California Regionals Competition at the Black Mountain Bowmen Archery Range on Aug. 21, 2022. 

Senior’s journey through archery: Tears, plateaus, improvements and mentorship 

Saachi Jain and Jonny Luo
Employees at the District Office pack sandwiches for Martha’s Kitchen on April 25. 

School places second in Martha’s Kitchen in first local Food Fight competition

Jonny Luo
Falcon families come together at the SHS Parents Holiday HAPPY HOUR event hosted by PTSO on Dec. 11th.

PTSO, seeing slump in donations, urges parents to support students, staff

Jonny Luo and Michelle Wan
Freshman Taewon Yim competes against a Los Altos Swimmer in the 200 IM event at a home meet on Mar. 10. 

Despite strong individual talent, small team size hinders team’s ability to win

Jonny Luo and Martin Xu
Senior Anthony Wang and two assistant coaches, sophomore Skyler Mao and freshman Lawson Wang, teach four students in Redwood’s black team. 

Clubs build connections with middle school counterparts

Sam Bai and Jonny Luo
Take-home COVID-19 tests are provided by the school for pick-up in the health office.

A COVID-era landmark: At-school Inspire testing ends

Jonny Luo
Patroclus and Achilles, playing the lyre, share an intimate moment together. 

Why you should read most of ‘The Song of Achilles’

Jonny Luo and Leyna Chan
LGSUHSD’s three new board members.

Three newest district board members see potential for positive change

Lynn Dai and Jonny Luo
Photo of The Inn at Saratoga.

Rare shooting occurs in Saratoga downtown

Jonny Luo and Kathy Wang
As part of a new program to increase opportunities for middle schoolers, the school invited eight students (front row) to join the ensemble of “The Crucible.” 

Drama program works to increase membership, provides new opportunities for students

Jonny Luo
Green committee members run a booth at the Saratoga Education Foundation run, selling eco-friendly products like reusable utensils, straws, tote bags and water bottles.

Green Committee asks for students’ help to make the school a greener place

Jonny Luo and Kathy Wang
A house in San Jose, built around a large tree, was devalued several hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the potential problem it posed for future homeowners. 

Saratogans love trees, except when they become problematic

Jonny Luo and Kathy Wang
Juniors listen to Professor Warren as he discusses Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

English 11 Honors hosts ‘Hamlet’ discussion with Shakespeare professor

Jonny Luo and Victoria Hu
Senior Olivia Smith as Abigail and junior Ella Tamas-King as Mercy Lewis and other ensemble members, which included middle schoolers, pretend to be bewitched in the courtroom scene during dress rehearsal. 

Fall play audience attendance rebounds to pre-COVID numbers

Jonny Luo and Daniel Wu
A collection of amigurumi made by Miranda Yee.

Senior who loves crocheting makes bags, sweaters, stuffed animals and more

Victoria Lin and Jonny Luo
Biden’s loan forgiveness plan simply throws money at the issue and solves no real problems.

Biden’s student loan forgiveness program fixes few real issues

Jonny Luo
Caption: During her visit to France in August, junior Anais Sobrier posed with her French friend, Julia, at Vichy’s Opera house. Sobrier met Julia during the first French camp she attended at age 9 in summer 2015. 

Jack of all languages: junior learns four languages with plans to study more

Jonny Luo
Behind the scenes: hiring processes for superintendent, district staff

Behind the scenes: hiring processes for superintendent, district staff

Lynn Dai and Jonny Luo
Junior varsity member Amaris Charton prepares for a shot in a game against Santa Clara on Sept. 22.

Girls’ water polo team seeks to improve after loss of key players

Jonny Luo
School board and city council candidates post their advertisements in Saratoga downtown’s four-way intersection.

Two board members opt against running for re-election; 5 candidates vie for 3 open seats

Lynn Dai and Jonny Luo
A photo of the fish my family caught. Five of them are mine, although I’m not sure which ones.

Fishing: boring but rewarding

Jonny Luo
Holly Royaltey teaches AP Government and Economics for seniors and World History for sophomores.

New World History and AP Government teacher encourages learning through growth mindset

Jonny Luo and Sunny Cao
Similar to last year, the school is still providing food such as this pasta bake.

Despite flaws, free lunch benefits students across the state

Jonny Luo
School spirit in the sophomore class is extremely lacking. 

We were freshmen in our sophomore year

Jonny Luo
73 questions: conversations with the school community

73 questions: conversations with the school community

Lena Aribi, Meher Bhatnagar, Christina Chang, Lynn Dai, Victoria Hu, Hannah Lee, Jonny Luo, Shannon Ma, Nikhil Mathihalli, and Sarah Zhou
 Night custodian Uriel Villavicencio cleans room 701 on May 18.  

From broken toilets to daily cleaning: The unseen workers who keep our campus clean

Jonny Luo
 SHS plant supervisor sits in his “control center” on Apr. 21. 

From custodian to plant supervisor: Paul Weir’s 30-year journey in the Bay Area

Jonny Luo
The badminton team poses during senior night

Despite little success during season, badminton places second at CCS with Mar at the head

Jonny Luo and Sanjoli Gupta
I first started learning to swim in the small pool in my backyard.

Recounting my sports memories as a high school athlete

Jonny Luo
A worker in the engineering lab as it is being worked on earlier this month

The big summer disruption: renovations to impact teachers, sports teams and outside organizations

Jonny Luo
I remember squatting around the dam I built with my friends

Elementary school memories: playing the engineer and building an illegal dam

Jonny Luo
This cookie felt and tasted like a stale Chips Ahoy! cookie.

Why I’ve given up on school cookies

Jonny Luo
The cup of boba on the right was my delicious go-to order from Teaspoon.

Boba-lover dissects his favorite boba order

Jonny Luo
Fantastic Beasts 3: ‘The Secrets of Dumbledore’ improves on declining franchise

Fantastic Beasts 3: ‘The Secrets of Dumbledore’ improves on declining franchise

Jonny Luo
The Quiz Bowl competitive team plays at Cal Cup 4 on March 27 at Bellarmine High.

STEM competitions spotlight top achievers

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
Measure E to the finish: School to conduct major renovations over the summer

Measure E to the finish: School to conduct major renovations over the summer

Anamika Anand, Jonny Luo, and Aiden Ye
Post-pandemic woes: Yearbook, ASB face funding issues

Post-pandemic woes: Yearbook, ASB face funding issues

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
A Sources of Strength professional talks to students during Sources of Strength training on Nov. 30.

Sources of Strength organizes Valentine’s day flower sale to fund mental health awareness projects

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
Saratoga: city of no lights and peaceful nighttime strolls

Saratoga: city of no lights and peaceful nighttime strolls

Jonny Luo
Sophomores Arjun Raje and Varun Sreedhara take the court against Monta Vista on March 8. The team ultimately lost 16-14.

With young roster, badminton seeks to develop skills

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
“Kurzgesagt — in a nutshell” is an educational YouTube channel with over 17.7 million subscribers.   

The perfect blend of entertainment and education: ‘Kurzgesagt — in a nutshell’

Jonny Luo
A lucky few guesses allowed me to guess this word in 3 tries.

Wordle: millions consumed by a simple yet compelling game

Jonny Luo
Portrayed in a sketched by a courtroom artist, senior mock trial president Nicole Lu competes at the Santa Clara County Mock Trial Competition.

Students see success in competitions, scholarships

Selina Chen, Allen Luo, Jonny Luo, and Nikhil Mathihalli

Seniors Vignav Ramesh and Anouk Yeh selected as Coca-Cola Scholars Regional Finalists

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli

Academic clubs prepare to host respective competitions

Jonny Luo, Nikhil Mathihalli, and Aiden Ye
The team plays a game on Jan. 25.

Girls’ soccer team hopes to carry preseason success into league games

Jonny Luo and Arnav Swamy
Dimock teaches an English 9 class about “The Odyssey” on Jan. 13.

Saratoga parent takes over as long-term substitute for departing English teacher

Jonny Luo
Staff editorial: As infections rise, schools should have the authority to go online again

Staff editorial: As infections rise, schools should have the authority to go online again

Jonny Luo
Redefining the superhero genre: ‘Invincible’

Redefining the superhero genre: ‘Invincible’

Jonny Luo
Quiz Bowl members practice for Cal Cup virtually through Protobowl, a real-time, multiplayer Quizbowl application.

Quiz Bowl to send its top team to nationals

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
The mock trial team poses for a photo with Velchamy after virtual practice on Nov. 29.

Mock Trial prepares for competition season with hybrid teaching

Vicky Bai and Jonny Luo
Inspire Diagnostic employees prepare for COVID-19 testing on Nov. 16.

New on-site COVID-19 testing aids school during first student COVID-19 case

Jonny Luo
Senior Lauren Yarrington plays in a match against Milpitas last year.

Falcons prepare to replicate last season’s success

Jonny Luo and Arnav Swamy
The football team practices at the field on Oct. 21

Football season cut short by lack of healthy players

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
School hosts Friday Family Time to answer parent questions

School hosts Friday Family Time to answer parent questions

Jonny Luo
School sees increase in iPad usage for both students and staff

School sees increase in iPad usage for both students and staff

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
Being unvaccinated amid a push for vaccination

Being unvaccinated amid a push for vaccination

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
School introduces new twice weekly on-site COVID-19 testing system

School introduces new twice weekly on-site COVID-19 testing system

Jonny Luo
A second-generation Chinese student’s Thanksgiving traditions

A second-generation Chinese student’s Thanksgiving traditions

Jonny Luo
Why you should buy ‘Bloons Tower Defense 6’

Why you should buy ‘Bloons Tower Defense 6’

Sam Bai and Jonny Luo
Junior running back Paolo Navarro runs the ball as senior lineman Parker Smith blocks Monta Vista’s defense.

Falcons kick off league season with a win and a loss

Andy Chen, Jonny Luo, Nikhil Mathihalli, and Shaan Sridhar

Quiz Bowl practices remain online to mimic tournament setting

Nikhil Mathihalli and Jonny Luo
School library should remove unnecessary books

School library should remove unnecessary books

Jonny Luo
Every day I’m puzzlin’

Every day I’m puzzlin’

Jonny Luo
UNICEF club advertises to potential members on the second day of Club Rush.

Club participation increases to pre-pandemic levels

Vicky Bai and Jonny Luo
Recapping the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Recapping the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Jonny Luo and Nikhil Mathihalli
Cafeteria adopts safety procedures to keep students and staff safe

Cafeteria adopts safety procedures to keep students and staff safe

Jonny Luo, Shannon Ma, and Minsui Tang
Kerry Mohnike and STEM and Chinese teacher Sara Tseng chat at Mohnike’s surprise retirement party held on Friday, Sept. 3, in the wellness center.

After 30 years in multiple roles, assistant principal Kerry Mohnike retires

Jonny Luo and Shreya Rallabandi
Can horoscopes actually predict your future?

Can horoscopes actually predict your future?

Jonny Luo
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